Causality in Static Models as an Initial Constraint on the Chronology of Events in System Behavior

Abstract: This paper analyzes the notion of causality in a conceptual model, mainly as applied in software engineering. Conceptual system modeling can be considered a three-level process that begins with building a static structural description to develop a dynamic model that will identify events used to specify the chronology of events. In this context, the model involves a representation of a portion of reality, based on ontology of different kinds of things and their basic relations to each other. Relations are defined in terms of their participating entities. This paper concerns relations between events, specifically causal relations among events in modeling. We examine causality in many fields of study to understand its role in modeling. The problem is that, according to many researchers, causation is so inextricably bound up in misleading associations that it is hard to define and is shrouded in mystery, controversy, and caution. We study and clarify the notion of causality through several examples, utilizing an event definition as a time thing/machine in a new conceptual modeling methodology. In conclusion, we claim that the purpose of causal relations in a system s static description is to constrain the system s behavior and thus exclude some possible chronologies of events.